Ukraine imposes martial law after Russia launches a nationwide attack

Ukraine imposed martial law across the country on 24 February 2022 after Russia began a large-scale military attack. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 64/2022, which set the regime from 5:30 a.m. for an initial thirty days, and the Verkhovna Rada approved it by 300 votes.

Martial law gave military and civil authorities defined emergency powers under Ukrainian legislation. The decree cited Russia's aggression and a proposal from the National Security and Defence Council. It did not automatically suspend every constitutional right; any temporary restriction had to follow the powers and limits stated in law and the decree.

The measure was separate from the general mobilization ordered later that day and from local curfews or evacuation decisions. Conflating them would make it harder to track which institution authorized each response. Parliament subsequently extended martial law as the invasion continued, but those votes are later legal acts.

The presidential notice and parliamentary record establish the effective time and approval. Because the government was acting during an attack, official material is authoritative for the legal instrument but not the only source needed to assess military events, civilian effects or compliance with law by any belligerent.

This News item records Ukraine's formal change of domestic legal regime, not the invasion itself, which has its own primary Fact. The distinction keeps the state's response separate from Russia's initiating military action and avoids implying that an emergency decree caused the hostilities it was enacted to address.